Dear All,It is my pleasure to present a recording of these pieces, composed in 2010-2011.

I have liked waltzes for long, as much in classical music as in jazz. I find the 3/4 measure inspiring, the chords change more often than in 4/4, and the possibility of dividing 3 beats in 2+1 or 1+2 or 1.5+1.5 opens room for exciting rythmic effects. I have composed a number of jazz themes in 3/4, but this is the first time I make fully composed pieces of that kind. In this series, I tried to change the concept for each one, while keeping a sense of suite. However, the pieces can be played individually. Here is the link to download the score from my personal site:

Since I know that many PS fellows are reluctant to listen too many pieces in the same post, I will post a waltz per week until the end of the series.

Thanks for listening and commenting !

No.1 starts in Cmajor but modulations come quickly. The general structure is A-A-B-A'. A is made of a right hand (RH) melody accompanied by the left hand (LH) playing a bass and a chord. B is written with one voice at each hand. Finally, A' is a reminiscence of the beginning theme, with a different modulation and a shorter length.

Very charming, somehow the simple melody sticks in my mind. And thanks for posting the sheet music. Judging from that I'd do it with less pedal to bring out the staccatos and the phrase endings (eg to make m2 and m3 different since the latter ends with a rest) - but I concede you are the expert here!

Very charming, somehow the simple melody sticks in my mind. And thanks for posting the sheet music. Judging from that I'd do it with less pedal to bring out the staccatos and the phrase endings (eg to make m2 and m3 different since the latter ends with a rest) - but I concede you are the expert here!

Joachim

Hello Joachim,Thanks for your compliment. You're right, I may have played differently from what is on the score at some places... Hope other pianists, if any, will be more rigorous!

No.2 has a completely different structure. It is made up with 4 superimposed themes, played at different places of the tessiture. The various themes are introduced one after each other, providing a fugue feeling (although all themes are different). In the central part of the piece, each theme is recalled, being exposed with a waltz voicing. Then the third part comes, as a reflect of the first one (starting with 4 voices and ending with a single one). The harmonic structure is cyclic (but with a shift after each cycle), with a period of five measures. The results sounds a little like some Shostakovich pieces (not intentional, but more the result of our common reference to Bach !).

Very nice. I have listened to the first and will be listening to the others. Isn't it interesting that so few waltzes have 3-bar phrases? Seems like you're doing quite a bit of playing around with 3-ness in all the waltzes, from a glance at the score Just a notation question: many times in the first waltz there is an eighth note followed by two sixteenths, which you mostly play as a dotted sixteenth followed by two thirty-seconds (and compare to the 16th-note grace notes, which you play as 16ths). Do you have a preference or is this open to interpretation?

Very nice. I have listened to the first and will be listening to the others. Isn't it interesting that so few waltzes have 3-bar phrases? Seems like you're doing quite a bit of playing around with 3-ness in all the waltzes, from a glance at the score Just a notation question: many times in the first waltz there is an eighth note followed by two sixteenths, which you mostly play as a dotted sixteenth followed by two thirty-seconds (and compare to the 16th-note grace notes, which you play as 16ths). Do you have a preference or is this open to interpretation?

Hello Heather,Thank you very much for your kind words and your interest for this music. Yes, you make me realise that I often thinks my musical sentences over three bars of three beats. Even, sometimes, I use triplets, therefore the 3 number is sticking very much to my brain Regarding your query, I'm not sure to understand what you mean. I think I play the melody as written, at least in the No.1. But I could probably accept slightly different rythmic execution, provided it preserves the general motion and it is musical, of course !

Hello everybody,Those few words to tell you that I have updated the score of my waltzes. I added a number of dynamics indications, some slurs and I changed two or three notes. I am attaching the new version. Thanks,

Hello everybody,I am late in delivering the No. 3. Here it is. Thanks for your attention !No.3 is a kind of study for the RH. It is a succession of ups and downs, supported by a bass played by the LH, as in Chopin's 1st study op. 10 (I'm not claiming it has the same merit, of course...).

No.4 (the longest one) is a theme with variations. The theme can be compared to the one of No.1, but it is more developed. A first variation emphasizes the RH, then it is the turn of LH. In the third one, I used an 'alternate' arpeggios structure between the two hands. The piece ends by a small recitative (RH alone) followed by a coda quoting the beginning of the theme.Thanks for listening and commenting.

Hi Francois, I listened to your first waltz and parts of all the others. They are interesting music! At first I thought of Kabalevsky, then Shostakovich, then Bartok, then Mompou, etc.....then I realized that I can't quite pin down what your music reminds me of so that means you have your own distinct sound, which is good!

I can get to work putting these up over the weekend. But first, the number 4 waltz shows that it's number3 in the title. Can you please clarify that so I don't screw something up?

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Hi Francois, I listened to your first waltz and parts of all the others. They are interesting music! At first I thought of Kabalevsky, then Shostakovich, then Bartok, then Mompou, etc.....then I realized that I can't quite pin down what your music reminds me of so that means you have your own distinct sound, which is good!

I can get to work putting these up over the weekend. But first, the number 4 waltz shows that it's number3 in the title. Can you please clarify that so I don't screw something up?

Monica,Thank you so much for your kind compliment ! At least my pieces seem to sound like XXth century music, even if they have been composed the century after (but still at the begining...). Thank you also for your offer to upload them. Actually, Chris wanted to do so at the first one, and I suggested to wait for the 'publication' of the last one (which will happen next week-end). I will resubmit the whole set just to facilitate your work, you dedicated administrators ! BTW I will fix this matter of No.3 vs. No.4.

I now also listened to no 2-4 and quite liked no 4, it has a nice dream-like quality. For some reason I do not connect as well with no 2 and 3. I look forward to no 5!

Joachim

Thanks Joachim ! Well, No. 3 is not my preferred too, but I like the second one. It may require several listenings to be better understood, since its structure is quite original, I think. Maybe it is too much intellectual, though... I hope you'll like the last one which is quite energetic and sarcastic.

Hello everybody, this is time to submit the last one of the series. Hope you like it !No.5 is a fast, short, two-voice waltz. The melody at the RH is very tonal and melodic, while the LH is rather ignorant about the obvious RH harmony. The sarcastic tone can evoke some Prokofiev's pieces (still not intentional, but my love for this composer is evident here).

Wow, the last one is great! I do hear inspiration from Prokofiev (I'm also a fan) in the treatment of the voices and tonalities. This is actually one I'd contemplate to play myself - do you plan to sell this music?

Hi Francois,That is really cute! I like this one the best. Sounds like Satie's Gymnopedie no. 1 was your inspiration? I hear that familiar melody here. Fun!!

Thank you Monica ! Finally, if you like the first and the last one, this is fine. It makes me think about my old piano teacher, who liked to say that, in a recital, you have to start well and to finish as well. In the middle, it doesn't matter, because the people is sleeping Regarding Satie's first Gymnopedie, I find the general mood quite different from my waltz, but yes ther is a common point between the two pieces - and this is not intentional: the first four notes of the theme are the same: 3-5-4-3, number 1 being the tonal note.

troglodyte wrote:

Wow, the last one is great! I do hear inspiration from Prokofiev (I'm also a fan) in the treatment of the voices and tonalities. This is actually one I'd contemplate to play myself - do you plan to sell this music?

It would be a great honor for me if you would play this piece, Joachim. No, I don't sell my music, and the score can be freely downloaded from my personal site, or from this one. I have declared my pieces at the French composer association (SACEM), so that they are protected in terms of intellectual property.

techneut wrote:

These are on the site. Please check, I had a bit of trouble with our unwieldy, illogical and clumsy CMS.

Had to correct the ID3 tags (Name and Composer did not comply) but I've decided it is less hassle to just fix these things than to try to get people to do it properly.

As for the valses, they are clever and inventive, and well played of course, but somehow they don't really connect with me. I guess it is the combination of jazz and modern harmonies.

Thanks Chris for your patience, not only in uploading the files, correcting the tags but also listening the music . May I borrow you a little more, asking you to add the presentation text on head of the Waltzes pages ? Here it is. Many thanks in advance !Oups, looking at the page, I noticed that there is a mistake in the numbering of the table : 4 - Valse No. 3. Could you fix it ?

Five waltzes for pianoComposed in 2010-2011Recorded in 2014

No.1 starts in Cmajor but modulations come quickly. The general structure is A-A-B-A'. A is made of a right hand (RH) melody accompanied by the left hand (LH) playing a bass and a chord. B is written with one voice at each hand. Finally, A' is a reminiscence of the beginning theme, with a different modulation and a shorter length.

No.2 has a completely different structure. It is made up with 4 superimposed themes, played at different places of the tessiture. The various themes are introduced one after each other, providing a fugue feeling (although all themes are different). In the central part of the piece, each theme is recalled, being exposed with a waltz voicing. Then the third part comes, as a reflect of the first one (starting with 4 voices and ending with a single one). The harmonic structure is cyclic (but with a shift after each cycle), with a period of five measures. The results sounds a little like some Shostakovich pieces (not intentional, but more the result of our common reference to Bach !).

No.3 is a kind of study for the RH. It is a succession of ups and downs, supported by a bass played by the LH, as in Chopin's 1st study op. 10 (I'm not claiming it has the same merit, of course...).

No.4 (the longest one) is a theme with variations. The theme can be compared to the one of No.1, but it is more developed. A first variation emphasizes the RH, then it is the turn of LH. In the third one, I used an 'alternate' arpeggios structure between the two hands. The piece ends by a small recitative (RH alone) followed by a coda quoting the beginning of the theme.

No.5 is a fast, short, two-voice waltz. The melody at the RH is very tonal and melodic, while the LH is rather ignorant about the obvious RH harmony. The sarcastic tone can evoke some Prokofiev's pieces (still not intentional, but my love for this composer is evident here).

I believe that classical music people like us have so many musical memories in our heads--some of which are in the very farthest recesses of our minds and pop out at unexpected times. After I listened to your recording, I went about straightening up my house and found myself humming that first main melody. But I was surprised when I had inadvertently transitioned into singing Satie's G...no. 1. That's how I figured that out. I believe you didn't do it purposely, but as it happens, all the melody notes of the opening phrase are the same in both pieces. Of course, the left hand and the rhythm is totally different, so yes, the tones are completely opposite, and your pieces are completely unique!

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

You're right, when improvising or composing, we very often play sections of musical phrases we have stored years or decades before in the depth of our memories. It is just like a puzzle: taking elements of several stories and making another one (or trying, at least...). By the way, I love Satie and he had much influence on my inspiration !

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